Re:YouTube's Adblock detection might break the law in the EU
by 1vuio0pswjnm7 on Thursday November 09, 2023 @10:56PM
(#38214868)
There was a period in time during the (d)evolution of the www, before Javascript, when the graphical browser would prompt the user whether or not they wanted to run a Java applet found in a web page.^1
Today, we are supposed to ignore the removal of choice as relevant.
We are supposed to ignore the billions of dollars Google pays to be the default search engine, where it is well-known that users do not actively select it.
We are supposed to ignore what happened to Facebook when Apple gave iOS users the choice to "Limit Ad Tracking" where previously they were given no such choice.
Giving users meaningful choice is a threat to the so-called "tech" company business model. Obviously those working for such companies will not like the idea of having to obtain consent to engage in surveillance and data collection. Much of that surveillance and collection is accomplished using Javascript.
1. The risks posed by those applets from the early web versus the risks posed by Javascript today may be different. However, the later is no less threatening. The world's web users have lost an incredible quantum of privacy thanks to the "run all Javascript by default" feature of web browsers distributed by so-called "tech" companies. The surveillance potential enabled by running arbitrary Javascript from the web is enormous. The company that produces the browser and the JS engine is in fact an advertising company engaged in surveillance advertising services on a massive scale.
Today, we are supposed to ignore the removal of choice as relevant.
We are supposed to ignore the billions of dollars Google pays to be the default search engine, where it is well-known that users do not actively select it.
We are supposed to ignore what happened to Facebook when Apple gave iOS users the choice to "Limit Ad Tracking" where previously they were given no such choice.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/02/facebook-says-apple-ios-priv...
Giving users meaningful choice is a threat to the so-called "tech" company business model. Obviously those working for such companies will not like the idea of having to obtain consent to engage in surveillance and data collection. Much of that surveillance and collection is accomplished using Javascript.
1. The risks posed by those applets from the early web versus the risks posed by Javascript today may be different. However, the later is no less threatening. The world's web users have lost an incredible quantum of privacy thanks to the "run all Javascript by default" feature of web browsers distributed by so-called "tech" companies. The surveillance potential enabled by running arbitrary Javascript from the web is enormous. The company that produces the browser and the JS engine is in fact an advertising company engaged in surveillance advertising services on a massive scale.